Why Shouldn't We Feed Water Birds?1

Abstract

"Water birds" are birds that live in or near aquatic environments such as the ocean, lakes, marshes, swamps, and rivers. This includes pelicans, ducks, geese, herons, egrets, gulls, terns, cormorants, etc. Feeding water birds leads to many different problems. This document is Fact Sheet WEC 179, one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published November 2003. WEC 179/UW193: Why Shouldn't We Feed Water Birds? (ufl.edu)

Full text

WEC 179
Why Shouldn’t We Feed Water Birds?1
Mark E. Hostetler, Martin B. Main, and Maena Voigt2
1. This document is Fact Sheet WEC 179, one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service,
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. First published November 2003. Reviewed April 2009 and October 2012. Please visit
the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.u.edu.
2. Mark E. Hostetler, wildlife Extension specialist and assistant professor; Martin B. Main, Associate professor, Southwest Florida Research and Education
Center, Immokalee; Maena Voigt, graduate student; Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to
individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national
origin, political opinions or aliations. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A&M University Cooperative
Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Thomas A. Obreza, Interim Dean
“Water birds” are birds that live in or near aquatic environ-
ments such as the ocean, lakes, marshes, swamps, and
rivers. is includes pelicans, ducks, geese, herons, egrets,
gulls, terns, cormorants, etc.
What Types of Problems Can Occur
From Feeding Water Birds?
Feeding water birds leads to problems such as:
• behavioral problems in the birds -- they lose their fear of
humans and become aggressive;
• malnutrition from eating foods with low or no nutritional
value;
• injuries from swallowing hooks (Figure 1) and nonfood
items;
• entanglement in shing line -- which can lead to starva-
tion, loss of a wing or foot, and death;
• injuries from swallowing large sh bones which they
cannot digest -- large sh bones can puncture a bird’s
pouch, get caught in the throat, and even puncture a
bird’s stomach;
• becoming tame, losing fear of humans;
• increased spread of disease;
• degradation of water quality (from concentrations of bird
feces);
• parent birds who are dependent on humans for food and
therefore cannot teach their own young proper foraging
techniques to feed themselves.
Feeding wild birds at shing piers is harmful to the birds’
health. Birds that attempt to swallow too large a sh may
choke or suer internal injuries. Birds that learn to associ-
ate shermen with food may try to eat sh o the hook
and become severely injured or die from swallowing hooks
(Figure 1) or getting entangled in shing line monola-
ments. Studies show that more than 700 pelicans die each
year by getting caught in monolament shing line.
Feeding birds also concentrates birds in one location. is
leads to an increased chance of disease being transmitted
Figure 1. A young Brown Pelican with two holes torn in its throat
pouch from shing hooks. Feeding water birds such as pelicans can
actually lead to the death of the birds.
Credits: Wildlife on Wheels <junglerat8@yahoo.com>

2
from bird to bird. Avian pox may be transmitted through
the increased physical contact between birds that comes
with crowding and intense competition for food. Diseases
such as avian botulism are transmitted between birds
through their droppings. With large amounts of bird
droppings comes the increased transmission of these
diseases. Large amounts of bird droppings can also lead
to increased bacterial counts, including E. coli, in nearby
bodies of water. Plus, the increased amount of nutrients
from bird droppings leads to growth of algae and may aect
water quality.
Bread and other processed foods are not part of a bird’s
natural diet and may lead to malnutrition from eating foods
with little or no nutritional value. e balance of ber,
fats, micronutrients, carbohydrates and protein in a bird’s
natural diet is radically dierent from a scavenged diet
consisting mostly of human food. Also, birds can choke on
large pieces of bread. Further, the leover bread is attrac-
tive to other wildlife such as rats and raccoons, which are
predators of eggs and chicks.
Wild birds that are fed frequently become habituated to
it. is repetitive behavior of going aer food thrown to
them can result in the birds swallowing anything that is
thrown to them, including garbage. Birds that are taught to
be dependent on humans for food cannot teach their own
young traditional foraging behaviors; the young may starve
as a result.
Tame birds also become vulnerable to hostile human
behavior. ey get chased by children and dogs, and
harassed by those who think the birds are a nuisance.
Feeding causes birds to be unafraid of dangerous hazards
like cars. Additionally, some species, such as the ducks,
geese and swans, may alter their normal migration patterns
if food is provided year-round.
Sometimes people attempt to feed birds up close, which
causes undue stress to birds. is is especially harmful
during the breeding season. Approaching nests to feed birds
may lead to birds altering their nest placement, abandoning
their nests, or to nest failures. It may cause the nest to be
noticed or found by predators such as crows and jays.
Feeding wild birds can lead to property damage or ag-
gression from the birds. During breeding season, sandhill
cranes that seem tame have been known to attack pets and
damage property. Gulls, terns, and pelicans may swoop,
dive or chase aer you to obtain food. Geese and ducks can
damage lawns by tearing grass up and eating it. ey also
deposit large amounts of fecal material on yards.
Feeding is bad for most wildlife, and especially for water
birds.
What Can You do to Protect Birds
Around Coastal and Inland Water
Systems?
• Don’t feed wild birds.
• Enjoy watching them from a distance, especially during
breeding season. For closer looks, use binoculars.
• Help educate others about the consequences of feeding
water birds.
• When shing:
• Stay with your shing poles, don’t leave them unattended;
• Dispose of monolament shing line in a trashcan, or if
provided, use the monolament recycling box;
• Dispose of carcasses of larger sh in covered trashcans.
Additional Sources of Information
• Ducks Unlimited. Online: http://www.ducks.org/
• Knight, R.L. and K.J. Gutzwiller. 1995. Wildlife and
Recreationalists: Coexistence rough Management and
Research. Island Press, Washington, D.C., 369 pp.
• Kushlan, J.A., and H. Hafner., eds. 2000. Heron Conser-
vation. Academic Press, London, 480 pp.
• Lincer, J.L., D. Kricit, and J.E. Shaw. 1979. People and
‘pan-handling’ pelicans. Fla. Field Nat. 7:13-18.
• Mays, A. 1997. Welcoming geese can be a mistake. All
Outdoors. Online: http://mdc.mo.gov/news/out/1997/
out0314.html#2
• Schaefer, J. March 1999. Domestic Duck Problems in
Urban Areas. UF/IFAS.
• Schreiber, R.W. 1980. e Brown Pelican: An Endangered
Species? BioScience vol. 30(11) pages 742-747.
• Sprott, P., and F.J. Mazzotti. June1991. SS-WIS-47/
UW085: Bird Attacks. IFAS.
• Stys, B. 1997. Ecology of the Florida Sandhill Crane.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Nongame Wildlife Technical Report No. 15. Tallahassee,
Fl, 20 pp.